An inflatable vehicle occupant restraint, such as an air bag, is inflated in a vehicle upon the occurrence of a vehicle collision. The air bag is typically stored in an uninflated condition in an air bag module. The module may be mounted on any one of several different parts of the vehicle, such as the steering column or the instrument panel. When the vehicle experiences a collision, the air bag is inflated outward from the module and into the vehicle occupant compartment. The air bag then restrains movement of a vehicle occupant toward the part of the vehicle upon which the module is mounted.
If the air bag is intended to restrain a vehicle occupant upon the occurrence of a side impact collision, the module is mounted at the side of the vehicle. Specifically, the module is mounted in a position to direct the inflating air bag between the occupant and an adjacent door. The module may thus be mounted, for example, on the door, on an adjoining pillar, on the seat, or on the floor beside the seat. However, the space available for the air bag module on these parts of the vehicle may be relatively small. Therefore, it may be necessary for the size of an air bag module at the side of the vehicle to be relatively small.